The Ungrateful Trio

So TigerBlog walked outside of Boston's AC Marriott Hotel in Cleveland Circle Saturday morning and found himself in the middle of the most ridiculous conversation ever. 

There were three people standing in the driveway in front of the hotel, and TB couldn't help but overhear what they were saying. And, well, even now he can't believe what he heard.

They were Boston sports fans. And they were complaining about ... the Patriots. And Bill Belichek. 

C'mon people. Are you serious? The Patriots won six Super Bowls with Belichek (and Tom Brady). Had they forgotten?

TB had this to say to them: "If the Patriots never win another game for the rest of your lives, you've already had more than your share."

They laughed ... and then went back to talking about how Mac Jones isn't as good as Tom Brady, and what a gip that is. 

For the record, their names were Savon, Thierry and Barbara. The only one in their group who wasn't going on and on about the Patriots was Friedrich — and that's because he's a dog. 

What the heck, people? 

TigerBlog told them he was going to have to mention this in his daily blog, and then they asked how they could get it. Barbara gave him her number to text her the link, and TB entered her in his contacts as "Barbara the Ungrateul."

TB was in Boston for the Ivy League field hockey tournament, one that ended heartbreakingly for the Tigers (if that is a word). After defeating Cornell 1-0 in the semifinal, Princeton had to face top seed Harvard for the Ivy League's automatic NCAA tournament bid. That's a Harvard team that had beaten Princeton 4-0 23 days earlier.

This time, the Tigers and Crimson went head-to-head for the full 60 minutes, back-and-forth, both teams on top of their games. In the end, all that separated the two was about an inch, which equated to the distance that Harvard's game-winning goal crossed the line with 35.7 seconds left before Princeton slapped it away a millisecond too late. 

It was a great game, one certainly worthy of the stakes. When it was over, TB felt a great sense of pride in what Princeton had done, how far the team had come in those three-plus weeks, how it had battled through three straight win-or-go-home games. 

He also marveled at what head coach Carla Tagliente told her obviously emotional team afterwards. "Sports can break your heart wide-open," she told them. "She should be emotional. If you're not, why do it?"

Princeton fell just short of its goal of returning to the NCAA tournament, but this was a fun team all year to watch. And a team it was: This was the first time since 1991 that Princeton had only one first-team All-Ivy selection (freshman Ottilie Sykes). Princeton played 17 games this year, of which 12 were one-goal games, against one of the toughest schedules in the country.

With the return of Beth Yeager next year and the maturation of the younger players, along with another strong incoming class, Princeton will again be back among the top teams in the nation. The 2023 season, though, will always have been a special one.

The field hockey's team only path into the NCAA tournament was with the Ivy autobid. In women's soccer, Princeton was already a lock for the tournament before the Ivy tournament began Friday at Brown.

In fact, all four Ivy teams were locks for the NCAA tournament, which made the first women's soccer tournament a fascinating showcase for how strong the league is. 

When the tournament bids came out yesterday, there were all four Ivies, not only in the field but also seeded. Brown was a No. 3 seed. Harvard was a No. 4. Columbia was an 8.

And Princeton? The Tigers were a seventh seed, and as such will play host to Michigan in the opening round. The winner of that game will take on the winner of Texas Tech-Florida Gulf Coast.

Princeton and Michigan have never met in women's soccer (though their men's teams played an epic NCAA game a few years back, going 14 rounds of PKs before Michigan won, in the snow no less). 

There won't be any snow this Friday in Princeton. Michigan, who missed the NCAA tournament last year but reached the 2021 quarterfinals, comes in after having gone 0-4-1 in its last five games. There was probably a big exhale when the team saw its name came up on the bracket. 

Michigan ranks second in the Big Ten in saves per game and fourth in save percentage. On the other hand, the team ranks 11th in the league in scoring offense. TB is pretty sure there are 14 women's soccer teams in the Big Ten now. 

More details on game time and ticket information will be available soon.